Harrison Ford has been asked to reprise his role in a sequel to Ridley Scott's sci-fi classic Blade Runner.

Production company Alcon Entertainment announced its offer to the Hollywood star in a press release, according to The Wrap website.

Ford, 71, played police officer Rick Deckard in Scott's 1982 film based on Philip K Dick's book set in a 2019 dystopian Los Angeles.

The film polarised critics and bombed at the box office, but a revised version without the voiceover of the original became a cult phenomenon.

Scott has talked about the possibility of a sequel for years, but it was not known if Ford would join the project.

"We believe that Hampton Fancher and Michael Green have crafted with Ridley Scott an extraordinary sequel to one of the greatest films of all time," Alcon co-chief executives Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson said in a statement.

"We would be honoured, and we are hopeful, that Harrison will be part of our project."

Blade Runner 2 will be set several decades later than the original, which also starred Daryl Hannah and Rutger Hauer.

Ford has recently taken on the role of Han Solo again for Star Wars: Episode VII, which is due to be released in December 2015.